To the Beach!

This morning, July 19, I will be leaving for the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama with 5 friends from work! We will be staying in a house rignt on the white sand beach and coming back home next Saturday! The above picture was taken on our trip to the beach last year.

Sky Watch Friday

Sky Watch Friday has grown so much it now his its own blog! The concept for Sky Watch came from Dot and if you want to join up or to see other Sky Watch photos, please visit Sky Watch, hosted by Tom at Wigger's World, Sandy Carlson from Writing in Faith and imac from imac's photos from the mind's eye.

Rain across the lake

I took this from the car. We were on Highway 155 on the middle bridge going over Lake Palestine. Wish we could have stopped, but as soon as you get of the bridges the view is blocked. I wasn't driving! :)

Sky Watch Friday

I took these last week - sunrise across the street!

Sky Watch Friday is hosted by Tom at Wiggers World!

Visit if to see more great Sky Watch pictures.

Camera Critters and Scrumptious Sunday

Rusty and Bob, sharing!
Misty Dawn hosts Camera Critters. Please visit for a lot more great critter photos.

Mozzarella Meat Pie

1 lb. ground meat

1.4 C chopped onion

1.4 C chopped green pepper

1/4 C sliced mushrooms

1.2 tsp. oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 small can tomato paste

4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1 can crescent rolls

Brown ground beef and drain off the fat. Add onion, green pepper and mushrooms. Cook until tender. Add spices, tomato paste and 1/2 of the cheese. Stir well.

Spray a pie plate with Pam and spread crescent roll pieces on the bottom and sides to form a crust. Add meat mixture and sprinkle on left over cheese. Bake at 375* for approx. 20 min.

I usually use the whole 1/4 C in the meat then sprinkle extra over the top. Probably too much cheese, what do you think?

Scrumptious Sunday is hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks!

Join in or visit, the recipes are scrumptious!

Sad News

I was at a workshop at school today and a call came in to one of the teachers with some bad news. One of our district's 7th graders was swimming in a pond near his home and drowned. He was a special child that everyone knew. He was in my room when he was in first grade. We discussed memories of C. and mourned him.
Please pray for his family.

Congratulations Laura!

This is my niece, Laura, in Kansas. She recently got her learners permit and is SOOOOOO excited! Her mom is SOOOOOOO scared! Yesterday her mom and dad got her this car and now she is even more excited! Laura sent this picture so I could see the car and share it with my friends. I think she is such a cute girl, but she is my niece! The car is great!

Congratulations on your first car Laura!

Skywatch Friday

Sky Watch Friday is hosted by Tom at Wiggers World!
Visit if to see more great Sky Watch pictures.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

GINA! DON'T LOOK! :)

My sister and her family live in Kansas, which, of course, means they are KU fans. So when they came to visit on the 6th this month they brought a special surprise for Ethan. They outfitted him in KU garb. He loves it! See the big cheesy grin. He has to have his chocolate milk in the Jayhawk cup and we play ball incessantly. We had a lot of fun with my sister and fam, wish they lived closer!

Three Things About Me

I was tagged by Kathryn over at The Empty Nest to do this meme. The rules are to tell everyone three things about yourself that they don't already know. Hmmmmmm, ok that's out..... uuuuuhh, no........... Let me think, nope everyone knows about Rusty, OK here:

• I always come in on the trailing edge of technology. I never even heard of blogging until a couple of years ago. I know, pretty pitiful. I just shake my head in wonder when I read about people who have been blogging for years. I was one of the last of my friends to get a cell phone and now I can't live without it. When I got my iPod my niece had to show me how to use it. I didn't quit buying cassette tapes until they quit selling them. I tried to turn my first CD over to hear the other side. I could go on but I think this is bad enough. (Point in fact here. I can't get rid of the extra bullets.)
• I was raised an Air Force brat. Dad was a pilot in the USAF so we lived in several states including Michigan (where I was born,) Alaska, California, Alaska (again,) and Kansas. After dad retired we lived in Missouri then Texas, where mom and dad were from originally.
• I pay good money to Curves every month and haven't been there for weeks!

If you would like to play, please do. Leave it in a comment or leave a link to your post! thanks.

Odd Shots Monday

Odd shots is hosted by Katney at Katney's Kaboodle.

I took this "picture" of the moon while

playing with my camera one night.

Camera Critters and Scrumptious Sunday

This is one if the critters that gives Rusty such a hard time in the back yard. This one sat there for awhile barking and fussing at Rusty while Rusty had fits on the ground.

Misty Dawn hosts Camera Critters.
Please visit for a lot more great critter photos.

COLESLAW

2 1/2 c. shredded cabbage

1 c. shredded carrot

1 sm. red onion, cut in half, thinly sliced and separated (or to taste)

1/2 c. dairy sour cream

2 tbsp. vinegar

1 tbsp. water

Layer cabbage, carrot and onion in a salad bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill.

To make dressing, stir together sour cream, vinegar and sugar. Pour into a container with

a tight lid and chill. At picnic time, pour dressing over vegetables in the bowl.

Toss to mix well. Makes 6 servings.

Scrumptious Sunday is hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks!
Join in or visit, the recipes are scrumptious!

What's in a Name?

Kathryn at The Empty Nest and Mere at Mercedes’ World did this meme and it looked fun, so I borrowed it!

1. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (First 3 letters of real name plus “izzle”) Shaizzle
2. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (Favorite color and favorite animal) Blue Panda
3. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (Middle name, and current street you are on) Dea Trimble
4. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (The first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letter of mom’s maiden) Broshtay
5. YOUR SUPER HERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink) Purple Sweet Tea
6. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (Mother’s middle name and father’s middle name) Anita David
7. YOUR GOTH NAME: (Black, and the name of one of your pets) Black Rusty, or should I have gone with Black Bear? :)
8. YOUR SPY NAME: (Your name spelled backwards) Norahs

Feel fee to join in by leaving your answers in a comment or create a post and leave me the link to your post!

Odd Shots Monday

Here's a pretty odd looking coffee shop!

Odd shots is hosted by Katney at Katney's Kaboodle.

Camera Critters and Scrumptious Sunday

I thought this little critter was a bit strange looking even for a moth.

The tips of his wings curl up a little bit and his tail curls up a lot!

Misty Dawn hosts Camera Critters.

Please visit for a lot more great critter photos.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

8 ounces macaroni (1/2 of a 16 oz pk)
1/4 cup butter
3 T flour
2 C milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

2 t Dijon mustard
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 C dry bread crumbs
2 T butter
2 T chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Boil macaroni in lightly salted water until al dente, drain.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for about 1 minute, until smooth and bubbly; stirring occasionally.Mix in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. Continue cooking until sauce is thickened.

Add cooked macaroni and Cheddar cheese.

Pour into 2 quart casserole dish. In small bowl mix together bread crumbs, butter and parsley; spread over macaroni and cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.

Scrumptious Sunday is hosted by Meredith at Mercedes Rocks!

Join in or visit, the recipes are scrumptious!

Overheard at School

As you know, school children go on at least one fieldtrip per year. One year our first grade went to the Zoo. The next day I asked my kiddos what they liked most about the trip. This is the one answer I will never forget. One little girl said, "I liked them big, pink chickens." She then displayed the picture she had drawn of the flamingos.

Sky Watch Friday

Two pictures of the sunrise last Monday.

Sky Watch Friday is hosted by Tom at Wiggers World!

Visit if to see more great Sky Watch pictures.

ABC Wednesday - T

T is for TEXAS

I live in East Texas, the Piney Woods.

This area is famous for its beautiful dogwood trees.

The Texas state tree is the pecan. I have seven in my yard.

The state large mammal is the Longhorn.

The Texas small mammal is the armadillo.

The Texas state bird is the Mockingbird.

Here, in the Anderson County Courthouse, is a hand painted picture of the Texas State Seal as well as three of the six flags to fly over Texas. The olive leaves up the right side of the seal stand for peace, the oak leaves up the left side stand for strength. The state flag, the top one pictured, often referred to as The Lone Star Flag, was adopted on January 24, 1839 to represent the Republic of Texas. It was the fourth of the six flags to fly over Texas.

ABC Wednesday is hosted byMrs. Nesbitt at her place.

Busy, Busy, Busy (& A New Camera!)

Wow! That last week of school sure is busy! The kids last day was Friday and our last day was Saturday. That included three meetings I had to attend: 1) the GT Committee met to go over the stories submitted and score them. 2) The second grade teachers met to sort the kids into seven new classes for their third grade year. 3) The big district meeting was held at the Jr. High as usual. The retirees were honored, people with 5, 20, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years with the district were honored with pins. Two of the 30 year people were from our campus. In 3 years I'll have my 25 year pin.

Last week we kept my niece's standard poodle while she and her fiance went to Las Vegas to be married. His name is Dragon and he is the sweetest dog. He and Rusty got along fine, but Rusty had to remind him sometimes that this is actually Rusty's home so he was top dog. She came and picked him up on Sunday.













Speaking of Sunday that was the day of David's family reunion. We all met at Salmon Lake Park. It isn't too far away, just about a 30 minute drive. Click on the link, click on Rental Photos then scroll down to Family Reunion Buildings and you will see a picture of the Crazy Horse Saloon building where our family meets almost every year. We took Ethan with us and he had a great time. The lake there is spring fed and he spent a lot of time swimming, and I spent a lot of time on the shore watching him. We all brought simple food. David and his cousins went through a lot of old photos and a good time was had by all.



Here is a portion of the lake.









May 26th was my birthday and, as promised, David got a new camera for me. A Rebel XTI! The store was having a "special" where you could get 75-300mm lens with the camera kit, so of course I had to get that. I got a case and two rechargeable batteries and a 4gb card because it was "on sale." Now I've never filled up the 1gb cards I have in my Kodak so why I thought I had to have the 4gb is beyond me, but there you have it.




Now I have a little free time to read up on this and try taking pictures!

ABC Wednesday - S

I've Selected Several pictures to use for the S theme this week. To begin on a Serious note, I present this picture of a Stunning Sunset taken last Summer while Strolling along the Shore.

Now for a Self portrait in Sun and Shadow taken on the Shore of a local lake.

Here we have a great-niece indulging in Some Serious fun Sliding.

I'll end this Series of S themed pictures with some Silliness. Here you can See my nephew, Shannon, and his Son acting, well, Silly!

ABC Wednesday is hosted byMrs. Nesbitt at her place.

Three Awards!

Kathryn over at 4urpets gave me this award! Isn't it pretty? Her friend translated it: “Love Me. When I deserve it the least is when I need it the most.” Thank you Kathryn for being my friend and Rusty's!

Meredith over at Mercedes World gave me this award. It is one she created herself. Mere is a friend both here and at Rusty's blog. Mere recently lost her own sweet dog, Patch. Thank you Mere for being a sweet friend.



Tammy at 3 Sides of Crazy gave me this award. She always has good recipies and lots of fun going on over at her place! Thank you Tammy!